Easter Weekend!

So this last weekend I got to go home and visit with the Fam, and let me say that I love my family, they are hilarious, and we have so much fun together. Thursday my Dad turned 60! Woo-hoo! He can now shuffle around as much as he wants, (and believe me, he does!) So we took him to get a pedicure, yes, I said pedicure! My mom, sister, sister in law, dad, and even my brother all went for a pedicure! It was SOOO nice. I loved sitting in the massage chairs, with a warm footbath! Mmm. My dad and brother loved it too, although they wouldn't admit it. :) Us girls all got our toes painted in Easter colors: yellow, pink, purple, and blue.

Anyway, I also took some pictures of the beautiful flowers blooming on the trees,

I like that you can see a bee in this one, and there's another bug on the flower.

 I had fun taking these pictures and also found a little bird that nested in my sister's topsy turvy planter.

This girl was very protective and I would say pretty brave.

She was really brave, she would stay there even with all the noise from our house, and my brother's dog! But, I was trying to get a good picture of her and got  a little too close, and I kind of scared her away a few times. I felt bad about that, but I got some pictures of her eggs! She came right back after I went inside.

Here are her eggs!

I thought that was really fun, and I can't wait for those eggs to hatch!

So, my sister is pretty amazing and she decided to make rice crispy eggs as treats for choir last Sunday. So I helped her make these:

 We used a large plastic egg as a mold, pressed rice crispy's into each side, filled one side with candy, and pressed them together to make a whole egg. It was so cute, sickly sweet actually! That's why you've gotta love Shaina, she's so creative!

Mom helped with the wrapping, she had these cute little flowers to add to it.

We had a few different colors: pink, blue, green, yellow, purple and orange.

 Since this is my official Easter post, I just wanted to share a few things I love:

Shara and Craig, this is for you! I'll never forget the joy this brought us at Easter time! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQWLwfaRMus&feature=related

Ok, now fun and games aside, I will end with saying that I'm truly grateful for this Easter time; the time I have to spend with my family and for my Savior, for his willingness to atone for each one of us, and the blessings we can grasp because he has risen. I'm grateful that because of his sacrifice we can overcome our sins, fears, and imperfections. Our job is to accept and receive the gift of the atonement, to repent and to stop dwelling on our imperfections. We can be happy through the trials in our life because Christ has been there before, and we know we aren't alone! If it weren't for Easter (aka the atonement) we wouldn't celebrate Christmas! So Happy Easter!

Just a Few Things...

Here's just a few things I never thought would happen in my life when I was 15:

1. Own a pair of Converse. I used to think they were ugly, but I recently got a pair, they're super comfy!
2. Learn to LOVE tomatoes! The texture made me gag growing up!
3. Go to all 3 BYU's- Yes ALL three! BYU-Idaho, Hawaii, then Provo! Who woulda thought. All I wanted was to go to Hawaii!
4. Serve a mission.  :) Never thought I would have the guts. Best learning experience EVER!
5. Work & live in San Francisco. Never, EVER would have thought that, I hated San Fran when I was younger, I thought it was too crowded and dirty.
6. Move back to California after graduating college and actually enjoy the Redwoods Ward! I had no intention of coming back to this state. NONE!
7. Be single at 25. No Comment. Actually... it's all good. :)
8. Wear Skinny Jeans. When I was 13, bell bottoms were just coming in again, I thought skinny jeans were hideous! I also remember my mom telling me capri's we're gonna come back...I didn't believe her.
9. Have my own Cubicle. So exciting! *note the sarcasm*
10. Prefer Thai Curry & Avocado to Chocolate & Ice Cream.

So from these few things, I've decided that life is extremely unexpected, and sometimes our best laid plans just don't work out. And you know what? That's okay. Cause most of the time those unexpected things in life turn out to be the BEST! One thing's for sure, we really don't know what to expect, I'm surprised at the way my life has turned out up to this point, I mean, the essentials stay the same; what's been most important in my life has become even more so, but a lot of things change. Life is ALWAYS changing, I guess that's one of the things you can always count on. These changes, whether they be for good or bad are the things we learn the most from! For example, moving back to California made me realize how beautiful it really is here, and I got to meet a lot of new and wonderful people. I was also able to spend more time with my family and learn to appreciate how amazing they are. Also, if I hadn't moved back, I would have never even thought of moving out to San Francisco. I wouldn't have this crazy adventure, which is still semi-new, and I don't know yet how living here will affect my life, all I know is that it is a new chapter, and that: a) new chapters come unexpectedly, and b) we usually don't realize all the blessings and learning they bring to our life until later. :)

I was just thinking about this today. Hope YOU do too!

So I just watched this video and it really connected with me. All these things I never expected to happen, happened. I was wrong about where my life was going to go. Maybe being wrong isn't that bad after all.

The 4 Month Mark and New Milestones!

Well, I guess I got burnt out by trying to post every few days last month! I just kinda stopped, and didn't find the time to write again. Life has been good, I'm settling in to my new apartment and job. You know, it's always exciting to move somewhere new for the first month or so. Everything is fresh and unknown, you have all these hopes and ambitions to make tons of new friends, see all the sights, have new adventures, and you feel like everything is going to be great! And then you reach that point where reality hits you, and you miss the place you left! All your friends, your family, the familiar places you went, and you have to actually face the fact that you've moved and everything in your life is new! You have to re-adjust everything! Since for the past 2 years I have moved pretty much every 4 months, I'm very familiar with this pattern and I think I reached that reality point last month. But have no fear, because after the 4 month mark it always gets better! ( I have actually stayed places for longer than 4 months and know that this is usually the point when I really feel settled.) And I'm reaching that point soon!  Needless to say, I'm excited for some stability in my life! To know that tomorrow, and next month, I will still have a job, still have an apartment, & that there is TIME for me to actually settle into a lifestyle! This is VERY exciting! It's been so long! :) I'm realizing that I can slow down, that I don't have to race to see everything all at once. I can pace myself and little by little establish my life here in San Francisco.

I'm also reaching an extremely exciting milestone in my life! I'm buying my first piece of furniture! :) Now I know that sounds silly, but, it makes me feel like I'm finally an adult. Now my dilemma is, do I get a dresser, or a wardrobe? The wardrobe is pine wood with a black-brown stain and 2 drawers on the bottom. The dresser has 8 drawers but is shorter so I could put things on top of it. It's such a hard decision, but I'll have to make it somehow! (note the sarcasm).  I will also be getting a bed soon! Hopefully this Saturday.Yay! I'll finally feel like this is my home, cause right now it just feels like I'm camping out! :) I've been sleeping on a memory foam topper for the past few months, and to be honest it hasn't been that bad, but....I can't wait for a bed! It will be so nice to come home and crash on my bed, instead of the floor! :) You see, I can be kind of a neat freak at times. I really enjoy having a place for everything, and when my room is clean I feel like my life is more balanced. And having balance in life is really important for me, otherwise life is not so fun.